Wawota was established in 1905 in the southeast corner of Saskatchewan, along what is now Highway 48. Its name comes from the Dakota "wa ota," meaning "much snow." Wa is "snow" and oda or ota is "much." People sometimes say it means "deep snow," but that isn't quite right.
The town once had a local railway known as the Peanut Line, which disappeared in August 1961. Residents often point to that moment as one that pulled the community together and started its forward-looking attitude. The town's motto, "Progress Through Perseverance," reflects the work Wawota has put in over the past few decades to stay lively for people of every age, despite the difficulties facing nearly every rural town in the province.
Across the region, Wawota is best known for its long record of successful sports teams, especially in hockey and baseball. Today the Wawota Flyers play senior men's hockey at the Forum, and the Wawota Pats play senior men's baseball at Lyle's Ball Park. The town is also known for its unusual collection of fire hydrants painted to look like people and cartoon characters, and it is called the "twin capital" for the many twin births recorded here, particularly in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Written from Wikipedia’s article “Wawota” (CC BY-SA 4.0), and shared under the same licence.